Beet Greens Quiche with no Crust (updated 4/21/14)

Beets are very closely related to chard, they are really just chard plants with skinny stems and fat roots, but the flavor of the greens is stronger than chard. I prefer to use them in dishes that incorporate other ingredients to offset that stronger flavor. Here's a new recipe that I came up with to use the first beet greens of the year, it's an adaptation of a spinach quiche recipe baked without a crust - both a time and carbo saver. I baked these in individual serving sized ceramic souffle dishes since a quiche without a crust would be messy to try to serve in slices. You could bake the filling in a partially baked tart shell (use at least a 10-inch quiche or pie dish), if you do that bake the quiche at 425 for the first 15 minutes and then turn the heat down to 350 and continue baking for about 30 more minutes. You could also substitute an equal amount of chard or spinach for the beet greens.

Update, April 21, 2014: I've modified the recipe to reduce the amount of custard mix because I found that I often time had too much filling for 4 ramekins but not enough for 5. I've also added an option to substitute stock for milk in the custard because the last time I prepared the dish I didn't have milk on hand so I tried the stock instead and the end result was delicious.

About 1 1/2 pounds beet greens, or chard or spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, sliced thin, or one large spring onion including green tops
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk or poultry stock
3/4 cup creme fraiche, or cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh grated nutmeg to taste
4 ounces grated gruyere or swiss cheese
smoked sweet or medium hot paprika

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Wash the beet greens and trim off the tough stems. Place the wet greens in a large saute pan over medium heat, cover the pan and cook until the leaves are wilted, turning them a few times to cook them evenly. Drain in a colander, allow them to cool until they can be handled, squeeze handfuls to remove excess moisture, and coarsely chop.

Saute the onion in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the chopped greens to the pan and saute for a minute or two to dry them a bit more. Portion the onion-greens mixture into 4 individual sized souffle dishes (my dishes have an interior size of about 4 inches by 1.25 inches) and place the dishes on a baking sheet.

Beat the eggs, milk, creme fraiche, salt and nutmeg together. Pour an equal amount into each greens filled souffle dish, top each dish with 1 ounce of grated cheese, and dust the tops with the paprika. Bake the souffles for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the custard has set and the tops are golden brown and puffed. Serve immediately, or cool and reheat later.

Sauteed Beet Greens

Green tops from 3 beets
3 slices bacon
3 small cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon pine nuts
2 tablespoons golden raisins
lemon juice and pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the beet leaves and discard. Coarsely chop the greens.

Meanwhile, crisp the bacon in a medium saute pan. Set aside the bacon to cool and crumble it. Pour off all but a tablespoon or two of the bacon fat from the pan, return the pan to the heat. Add the garlic and pine nuts to the pan and saute for a minute, don't allow the garlic to brown. Add the chopped greens and the raisins to the pan and continue to saute, stirring and tossing, until the greens are cooked to your taste - about 5 minutes for me. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice and grind some fresh black pepper over all. Add the bacon and stir it all in. Taste for salt, the bacon adds enough salt for my taste. Serve warm.

This ended up making about 3 servings.

Beet Greens Galette

1 pound washed and destemmed beet greens
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound sweet onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup creme fraiche or cream
nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste
2 ounces grated Gruyere
Pastry dough for a single crust

Put the wet beet greens in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cover and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted. Transfer to a colander to drain and cool.

Wipe out the pan and return to the heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook, stirring occacionally, until the onion just starts to turn golden.

While the onion is cooking, squeeze the moisture out of the beet greens by the fistful. Coarsely chop the greens.

Once the onion has turned slightly golden, add the chopped greens and stir to mix for a couple minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Mix together the creme fraiche, egg yolk, nutmeg, salt and pepper. When the onion and greens mixture has cooled stir them into the creme fraiche mixture.

Roll the pastry dough into a 14 to 16-inch circle. Put the sheet of dough on a piece of parchment paper or an unrimmed baking sheet. Spread the greens mixture in a 12-inch circle in the middle of the dough. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the greens. Pull the edges of the dough up over the filling letting the dough fall into casual pleats. Lightly beat the egg white and brush the top of the dough with it. Bake the galette in a 400ºF oven for about 30 minutes. I like to bake it for 20 minutes on a pizza stone set on the floor of the oven, and then for another 10 minutes higher in the oven to brown the top.